Don't Judge (Old)
by Squirtle1996
Summary: NaZa AU. Slight NaLu. Nerd Natsu. Erza, president of the student council, looking for her match after a broken past, meets a new boy that transfers to her school, Fairy High. Will this boy help her obtain happiness?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: WOW! IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME! Never wrote a story for so long. Anyways. This is going to be a NaZa story and it'll also be my first AU.**

Getting ready for school is one of Erza's favourite thing to do. As the president of the student council, the redhead is always looking forward to learn something new every day. School is probably Erza's second favourite thing in the world, only next to strawberry cake. Many question how she maintains her marvelous figure even after she consumes at least three whole cakes a day. With her beauty, it's obvious that she attracts many of the male students. Unfortunately for them, she turned down every confession she had ever received. It's not that she's playing hard to get, but it's just that she had her heart torn apart after she broke up with her old boyfriend, Jellal during first year. She always makes excuses that she couldn't find her match, but it's obvious that she just couldn't let go of the past. Maybe someday, someone will be able to change her, and that day may be coming very soon.

Wearing her school uniform which consists of a white blouse, a white and blue striped tie, and a red jacket, she put her hair into a ponytail and walked out the door. Arriving at school, Erza was greeted by her best friend, Lucy Heartfilia. Lucy was a blonde who was also a beauty and probably was on par with Erza in terms of looks and popularity.

"Hey Erza!" Lucy smiled and waved at the redhead walking towards her.

"Hi Lucy." Erza nodded.

The two friends walked side by side into the building to get ready for first period. In the building, they were greeted by many students, especially males.

"Looking good as always my dearest Lucy!" A male with spiky orange hair kneeled before Lucy, took her hand, and planted a kiss. Loke was a popular student among the girls and he dated many, but he really only had eyes set on one. Everyone in the school knew that Loke had a crush on Lucy, but she always rejected him, claiming that she already had someone she liked.

Taking her hand back, Lucy sighed. "I already told you man times Loke, I already have someone I like, so stop sexually harassing me." She was already use to Loke's affection so she wasn't really bothered by his action. Erza giggled and the two continued walking to class. Sitting through first period, almost everyone was asleep, besides Erza. As the top student of the school, she can't afford to nap. After first period, Erza and Lucy walked out of class and separated since they had different courses.

At lunch, Erza and Lucy regrouped and sat at their usual spot on the roof. The roof was their secret lunch area since no one was there to disturb them, just peace and quiet. While eating, Erza remembered something.

"Hey Lucy, you never did tell me who you liked." Erza questioned.

Lucy giggled. "You don't know him. Besides, if you were to meet him, you would probably fall in love with him also. Can't have that you know."

Erza raised a brow.

"hahaha just kidding!" Lucy laughed out loud.

"Well then, tell me." Erza repeated.

"Well he's just a childhood friend that I went to school with back when we were younger. It's no big deal." Lucy explained.

"So what do you like about him?" Erza asked.

"What's with the questions?" Lucy laughed. "Well, first of all he's unique. If you see him, you'll also say that. He's also a nice guy. He would go through anything for his friends. One time when a bully was picking on me at school, he stood up for me and beat the bully. Even though he got into a lot of trouble, he said that it was worth it if it was for you." Lucy blushed as she explained.

"Wow. That's sweet of him. So have you guys made any progress?" Erza put on a small smile.

"Well… I did confess to him before we entered high school four years ago, but he turned me down. He said he only saw me as a younger sister." Lucy frowned.

"Oh, I apologize!" Erza bowed quickly.

"nono it's okay! I already got over it. Besides, we still meet up sometimes and text. We're still best friends!" Lucy smiled.

"I see. That's good to hear." Erza smiled.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot! He's transferring to Fairy High tomorrow! Just thought I'd let you know." Lucy giggled.

"Huh…?" Erza raised a brow.

"Yup! The person I like will be here tomorrow! He's transferring from Magnolia High!" Lucy said excited.

"Magnolia High? The school that is really competitive during fight tournaments?" Erza questioned.

"Yeah. The same school that Jellal goes to." Lucy frowned as she mentioned a name she wasn't supposed to. Erza didn't reply.

"Well anyways, it seems like he's tired of competing so he wants to change schools." Lucy explained.

"Yeah I understand. We all heard about Salamander, dominating in first and second year. Even though I haven't seen him fight, the stories of him would make me move as well if I had to compete with him. Our team was lucky that they lost before versing him." Erza giggled.

"Well Salamander didn't really do anything after second year so he probably retired." Lucy explained.

"Yeah. It's a shame. I wonder how he looks like. Maybe he could be my match. Just kidding! Anyways, since your friend is from Magnolia, I'm going to assume that he is going to join the fight team?" Erza asked.

"Probably not. He doesn't really like fighting anymore." Changing the subject, Lucy faked a smile. "Anyways, since it's his first day, I want you to show him around since you're the prez. It's much more meaningful if you do it and it'll give him a good impression of what the school is like! So please take care of him!" Lucy bowed.

"Okay, I guess I can do that…" Erza replied, still not sure how coincidental it is that they were just talking about a boy, and he'll be here tomorrow.

"Anyways, did you find anyone you're into yet?" Lucy asked. Erza shook her head.

"Come on Erza! You're pretty! Many guys like you! You're going to have to forget about Jellal! Don't you remember what he did?! He cheated on you with someone else! I would kick his ass—"

"That's enough." Erza stopped Lucy. "I know what he did, and I would never forget, but it's just that, I'm not interested in anyone."

"Alright Erza…. But when you find someone. I want you to seduce him, so that he'll make you his." Lucy smirked.

Erza's eyes widened and her face was flushed with the color scarlet. "Lucy!"

* * *

The next morning, Erza received a text from Lucy.

" _Sorry! I can't make it to school today! I got a fever_ _I told my friend to meet you at the student council office in the morning before first. Also, would you mind having lunch with him? Just so that he has company. Thank you!"_

Erza replied to Lucy's text, telling her that she could handle it. Erza got into her uniform, tied her hair into a ponytail, and marched to school. Quickly hurrying to the office to see if Lucy's friend had arrived, she stumbled upon Loke and his gang crowding around in a corner. There she saw that Loke was harassing someone and their things were all over the floor. Loke may be popular with the girls, be he's also an ass and bullies people who he thinks is inferior to him.

"What's with the hair?! You paint it or something?" Loke laughed. He then proceeded to punch the victim in the gut. The victim was then pushed against the lockers with a loud slam. Loke tried to punch him in the face, but was stopped when someone grabbed his shoulder. Turning around, he saw that his gang had disappeared and standing there was a red demon.

"Loke…" Erza glared.

"What…?" Loke shivered. His voice began to shake.

Erza may be the president of the student council, and a beauty, but she also has an infamous demon side, who would scare even the toughest of people. Not many people get to see that side of her, but when needed, she is not afraid to show it.

Loke quickly moved away from Erza's clutch and ran off.

"That Loke!" Erza screamed. She turned around to see the person picking his things up.

"Here let me help you!" Erza helped the male. "Here." She said, handing him his things. The male looked up, and Erza was surprised. The male had flat salmon pink hair, he wore big glasses, a white scaly scarf and looked completely out of confidence. The male muttered a quiet 'thank you' and walked off.

'That hair, I've never seen him before.' Erza raised a brow.

Looking at the clock, it was almost first period and she still had to meet up with Lucy's friend, so she quickly ran off to the office.

Panting at the door, she looked at the clock. "Did anyone stop by to look for me?"

"Morning Prez!" Mirajane waved. Mirajane is the vice president and one of Erza's best friends.

"Morning Mira! Did anyone come looking for me?!" Erza asked.

"Why yes. He's sitting in the room right—" Erza quickly dashed into the backroom of the office.

Seeing that someone was really waiting for her she quickly bowed.

"SORRY I'M LATE!" Erza yelled. Looking up, she sees a familiar face.

"No problem." A male with pink hair muttered.

"Oh it's you." Erza smiled. She stood silent for a few seconds until realization hit her.

"YOU'RE LUCY'S CHILDHOOD FRIEND?!" Erza screamed.

The male just nodded slightly with a blank face.

Erza couldn't imagine that someone like him would be Lucy's best friend. Even though Erza doesn't judge anyone, he still looked like those typical nerds. She clearly couldn't imagine him being from Magnolia High, but he is unique. She had never met anyone with that hair color before.

"Well, sorry for yelling. But my name is Erza, Erza Scarlet. What's your name?" Erza asked as politely as possible.

"My name is Natsu, Natsu Dragneel." The male named Natsu replied.

Erza smiled and then quickly pulled out her phone and turned around, quickly texting something.

' _Your friend is Natsu Dragneel right?'_

Lucy quickly replied. ' _I see you have met him. He's pretty unique right?! Please take care of him!'_

Erza replied back. _'He's unique alright…'_

Turning back to Natsu, she gave her brightest smile.

"Well then Natsu, do you have a schedule yet?" Erza asked. Natsu nodded and took out a sheet of paper from his bag and handed it over to Erza. Erza took it and was surprised.

"Wow! That's exactly the same as my schedule! I guess from now on you'll be my study partner." Erza giggled. Natsu just nodded.

"Well anyways Natsu, let's go to class. The bell is about to ring. I'll show you around the school during lunch." Erza said and lead him to class.

"Everyone! Today we have a new transfer student! His name is Natsu! So please treat him nicely!" The teacher shouted. Natsu proceeded to bow.

"What's with the hair?!" A male with raven black hair yelled.

"Gray be nice!" Erza shouted.

"What?! I just thought that it was cool. I didn't mean to offend him or anything…" Gray retaliated.

"Natsu, don't mind him. He's always like that." Erza said.

"Thanks. You're really nice…" Natsu muttered but smiled back.

"No problem! A friend of Lucy's is a friend of mine!" Erza smiled.

"Well anyways Natsu, as you can see the tables in class are arranged in pairs. I sit here, and Lucy sits beside me. Unfortunately, the only remaining seat is at the back beside a guy named Laxus, but he never shows up anyways so you can sit there. Well you can sit beside me today since I'll be lonely without your girlfriend here." Erza smirked. Natsu began to blush, but he didn't say anything. Erza just giggled at the boy's flustered face when she teased him. Natsu slowly sat beside the redhead and stayed silent as the teacher began their lesson. What Erza didn't realize was that Natsu wasn't flustered because of the teasing.

 **A/N: Well that's the end of chapter one. I didn't really read this over so if there are any grammar, spelling mistakes, or any questions about the story, just let me know.**

 **Also, Chapter 434 of the manga… no words to describe…**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just a short update coming through.**

After tanking through the first few periods, Natsu and Erza were now sitting on the roof, having lunch with each other as company. It's Natsu's first day at Fairy High, and he seems to be brilliant. No matter what question the teachers threw at him, he was able to answer with ease. Unfortunately, when it came to making friends, he wasn't very good at that. He didn't approach anyone, and nobody bothered to interact with him. It was probably due to the fact that he was really quiet and his strange hair color seemed to repel everyone away. Even for Erza, she had a hard time socializing with the pink haired male. He would often reply with just "ok" or nod. Luckily for him, Erza had a heart of justice and she swore that she wouldn't give up on him.

"So Natsu, how's school for you so far? Are you enjoying it?" the redhead asked as she took a bite from her sandwich.

"Ok, I guess…" Natsu mumbled as he chewed on his sandwich. He didn't really want to talk about school. All he wanted was to have a peaceful lunch, but since it was Erza, he had to show her respect for taking care of him.

"That's good…" Erza turned her gaze to the ground. Thinking that it was getting awkward, she decided to change the subject. "By the way, I heard from Lucy that you used to go to Magnolia High. Is that true?" Erza questioned. Natsu nodded in response.

"Wow! Does that mean you're really strong?!" Erza smiled as she tried to change the mood.

Turning his gaze to look the redhead in the eye, Natsu stayed silent for a moment.

"Do I look strong?" Natsu asked with no expression. Erza didn't say anything. She wanted to, but she didn't have the words.

"There you go." Natsu said. He then stood up, packed his things and exited the roof.

Realizing that her fellow companion had left, Erza quickly packed her things and followed him as well. She didn't know what she was thinking, asking him a question like that. It was clear that he probably didn't like people asking him questions like that. She didn't want to make things awkward between them and chased after him to apologize.

"Wait Natsu! I didn't mean it like that!" Erza yelled as she ran after the boy. Finally catching up to him, she grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. "I'm sorry Natsu. I didn't mean to offend you." Erza bowed quickly. Natsu stared at her in her bowing position, and giggled. Hearing the male laugh, the redhead looked up at him to see him smiling.

"What's so funny? I was really trying to apologize!" Erza shouted.

"Oh! I'm sorry. It's just that, when you apologize, it's pretty cute." Natsu continued to giggle. It was now Erza's turn to get flustered. It was the first time she had heard the boy laugh, and it was refreshing, compared to his usual emotionless self.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. I wasn't offended or anything." Natsu replied.

"Really?" Erza hit him lightly on the arm as payback for making fun of her.

"Ow that hurts!" Natsu rubbed his arm with a fake hurt expression.

"I'm really sorry!" Erza bowed again.

"See! You're doing it again! It's cute!" Natsu giggled. Erza looked at the male and pouted.

"STOP TEASING ME!" Erza shouted with a blush on her face.

"Yeah yeah. Anyways, it's almost time for class. Shall we get going, prez?" Natsu winked at the last part.

During class, Natsu was sitting at the back of the room, while Erza sat at the front. She looked at him to see that he was back to his normal self, emotionless and lacked confidence. Now the redhead was confused. Natsu was a fun person to be around with, like Erza had experienced at the end of class. She just didn't understand why he was being so distant now though.

After school, Erza parted ways with Natsu and her friends and decided to go visit Lucy at her house. Arriving at Lucy's house, she was greeted by her mother, Layla, and the redhead went up to the blonde's room.

"Hey Lucy." Erza smiled at her sick friend who was lying in bed.

"Oh, Hey Erza." Lucy smiled at her visitor.

"How are you feeling now?" Erza asked with concern. "Do you think you can come to school tomorrow?"

"Yeah I'm feeling much better so I'll probably be going to school tomorrow." Lucy replied.

"That's good to hear." Erza smiled.

"Anyways, how was Natsu? Did he trouble you?" Lucy asked.

"Well…" Erza explained what had happened at school today. From finding the male getting beat up by Loke, to the teasing that he did to her during lunch. All Lucy could do was laugh.

"hahaha! Out of everyone he could tease, he just had to tease you!" Lucy laughed.

"Yeah yeah. By the way. Is Natsu always like this? He is clearly not the person you described him to be. I mean, in class he doesn't even try to meet anyone. It's like he's trying to isolate himself from everybody else. The only person he talked to was me." Erza asked.

"Well, that just means he likes you!" Lucy joked. Erza's face began to grow red. "Just kidding." Lucy winked. "I'm going to kill you!" Erza shouted as she held the blonde by the shoulder and began shaking her like a maniac.

"Alright Erza! I get it I get it!" Lucy stopped laughing. "Well to answer your question. He's been like that since the end of second year. He told me that he had lost interest and didn't want to be bothered anymore." Lucy explained, but the blonde was shocked when she saw Erza crying.

"I'm so sorry!" Erza bowed. "I didn't know you were going through so much! It must've hurt when he said that to you!" Erza sobbed as she embraced Lucy.

"Huh? WHAT?!" Lucy yelled. "That's not what I meant! I meant that he lost interest in competing in fights!"

"Huh?" Erza let go of Lucy. "Was that the reason why he stormed off when I asked if he was strong? Did he find it annoying when I asked him because he didn't want to be bothered by it?"

"That's exactly right. So when you see him, don't mention anything about strength, fighting or girls to him." Lucy explained.

"Why not girls?" Erza raised a brow.

"Because he's mine!" Lucy shouted.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Erza met up with Lucy at the blonde's house since she was still a little sick. Erza is the type of person that would help anyone if she is capable of it, not to mention that Lucy was her best friend.

"Morning Lucy!" Erza bowed.

"Hi Erza!" responded Lucy with excitement clear in her voice.

"Why are you so excited today? Don't you usually fall asleep in class anyways?" Erza giggled.

Blushing, Lucy responded. "Today is the first day I'll have class with Natsu ever since middle school! Of course I'm excited!" The redhead giggled at the blonde's childish behaviour.

"Ughh, you're so lucky Erza, having all classes with him. You wanna switch schedules?" Lucy winked.

Erza sweat dropped. "No thanks." Erza knew that her blonde friend was hyper, but this was the first time she saw her acting like this.

"Anyways… wanna start walking?" Erza suggested.

"Sure! The faster we get to school, the faster I can see him!" Lucy cheered in excitement. Erza just sighed and shook her head.

Arriving at school, the blonde quickly searched around, trying to find pink. Erza just trailed behind her, also trying to find pink. Browsing through the hallways with no hope, Loke suddenly appeared in front of the two girls.

"Greetings Lucy!" Loke smiled and then turned to the redhead and gave a stare. "Erza."

"Hey Loke." Lucy sighed in response. She didn't really want to socialize with Loke at the moment. Sure he was popular among the girls, but she wasn't interested.

"Hey Loke. Have you seen the boy with pink hair?" Erza questioned.

"Pinky? Haven't seen him. Why are you looking for a loser like him anyways?" Loke smirked. "It's obvious that I'm the better choice."

"Shut up Loke." Erza dragged Lucy away from the jerk.

"Why are you in such a hurry Erza?" the blonde asked.

"What do you mean? He was bad mouthing the person you liked. Aren't you mad?" Erza replied.

Lucy sighed in response. "Well I was already kinda expecting that he would be the outcast anyways."

"What do you mean?" Erza raised a brow. She was confused on what Lucy meant by expecting him to be the outcast.

"Well, that's what he wanted so I can't really stop him from doing what he wants, even though I think it isn't right." Lucy answered. "Anyways, let's go to class, we'll see him there anyways."

The two girls walked to the classroom as they await for the bell to ring. What they haven't realized was that the person they were looking for was at the stairwell with a bunch of other guys.

"Let's take his glasses and flush them down the toilet." One guy said.

"Nah, let's just flush him the toilet!" Another guy laughed.

"How about we just beat the crap outta him." Another one suggested.

After arriving at school, the boys found Natsu and forced him into the stairwell, where they began to pick on him. Hearing the doors open, the boys stopped when a male entered.

"Hey Loke." The three greeted in unison.

Without even looking at his crew, Loke grabbed Natsu by his white scaly scarf and spat in his face. He then proceeded to push him on the chest, which caused the pink male to collapse on the floor. Natsu wiped the jerk's saliva off his face. Luckily his scarf hasn't been ruined or he wouldn't have known what to do.

"Explain to me. Why are Lucy and Erza looking for you?" Loke asked. The pink haired male didn't reply. Instead he slowly got back up. Loke then kicked his leg which caused him to drop onto his knee.

"Answer my question or I'll make you feel pain." Loke smirked at the boy. Still no reply.

"Playing tough now are we? I'll let you know, I'm the strongest in this school. If I wanted to knock you out, I could do it in two seconds." Loke cracked his knuckles.

Loke thought that he had intimidated Natsu and smirked. However, his smirk disappeared when Natsu's face slowly crept into a smile. Frustrated, Loke grabbed Natsu up by the hair, pulling it hard. This made Natsu's hair spike up a bit. The bell for first period than rang.

"Come on Loke, we have to go." One of the teenage boys said.

Sighing, Loke let go of Natsu, and then glared at him. "I'm not done with you yet, Dragneel."

The bullies left the stairwell, with Loke eyeing Natsu one last time. 'Where have I seen that hair before?'

In class, Lucy was worried about Natsu's absence. It was his second day at school and he's nowhere to be found.

"Where is he…? The bell already rang." Lucy pouted at Erza.

"I'm sure he's just running late." Erza comforted the blonde.

"Hmm… I guess…" Lucy sighed.

"That means I'll have to give him punishment, as the student council president." Erza laughed.

"Come on Erza. Don't be like that. He'll be hanging with us for the rest of the year. Don't make it hard for your friends." Lucy pouted.

"As the president of the student council, I must set a standard and become a role model for the younger ones, so no exceptions." Erza shouted proudly. Lucy just giggled at the way her friend takes everything so seriously.

"I just finished taking attendance, so Natsu and Laxus are the only ones away?" the teacher shouted to get the attention of the class. "Alright then, would anyone like to take down the attendance?"

Erza quickly raised her hand. "As the president of the student council, it would be my honour to take down the attendance." The redhead declared. Everyone tried to hold in their laughter.

The attendance office was pretty far from their homeroom as they were on the third floor, while the office was on the first. Walking through the hallways, the redhead spotted Natsu walking out of the washroom, with his hair back to his 'nerd' style. Walking by without noticing her, Erza called out for him.

"Hey Natsu! You're late!" Erza shouted.

Turning around to see Erza, he greeted her. "Oh sorry Erza. I was in the washroom. I'll head to class now!"

"We already took attendance, so you're going to have to sign in." Erza declared.

"Can't you just erase my absent right now? You have the attendance with you." Natsu explained.

"As the president of the student council, I must set an example for the younger ones, so no I cannot do that." Erza said with confidence. Noticing Natsu giggle, she blushed. She saw his other self again.

"What's so funny?!" Erza shouted with embarrassment.

"Sorry Erza!" Natsu giggled. "It's… it's… just that… nevermind…" Natsu continued to giggle. "I'll go sign in."

Calming down, Erza and Natsu began their way to the office. It was only the two of them in the hall, and they were silent, not knowing what to say to each other. It was present to Erza that Natsu had become his usual self again.

"You know… you could talk and smile more. I mean… I know you could do those, but why are you trying to hide it?" Erza asked. Natsu stopped in his track. Erza just stared at him. They stood in silent for a second.

"Natsu…?" Erza called out, worried.

"I'm sorry Erza. It's just that, I don't really want to say it right now, but maybe when we get to know each other better, I'll tell you." Natsu mumbled. Erza continued to stare at him with discomfort, not sure by what he meant.

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize. I understand. Maybe if some day you need someone to talk to, I'll be here, if you need me." Erza placed her hand on the boy's shoulder with a loving smile. Natsu looked into her eyes. He was amazed by how honest and beautiful they were and began to blush.

"You know… I'm grateful that you interact with me, unlike the others." Natsu smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Any friend of Lucy's is a friend of mine." Erza smiled back.

Natsu looked kind of disappointed. He wanted Erza to socialize with him for who he was, and not because he was a friend of Lucy's.

"Anyways, we're at the office." Erza then took out a pencil, and used the eraser on the back to erase Natsu's absent.

"There. You don't have to go in." Erza smiled.

"Huh? Why did you erase it?" Natsu raised a brow.

"Absents don't look good on record. I'll do it for you just this time." Erza explained.

"Then why did I come here, if you were going to erase it anyways?" Natsu asked.

"Because I wanted your company" Erza put on her brightest smile.

Natsu's blush returned and he smiled back. 'Maybe she's the one'

 **A/N: Don't be shy and leave a review. It helps motivate me and it'll probably help me get more chapters done.**


	4. Chapter 4

It's been a few weeks since Natsu entered Fairy High. Things were pretty normal with Natsu being cold towards others and getting bullied by Loke and his crew. He kept the bullying to himself and didn't tell anyone, besides Lucy. He didn't seem to open up to anyone else yet.

They were currently in first period and the teacher gave everyone free time to do their work. Erza being the top student of the class, would usually spend every second being productive, but not today. Moving her chair to the back of the room, with her best friend Lucy, they were trying to socialize with her new found friend, Natsu.

"Ayyyy Natsu. Stop being such a downer. No one is going to like you if you keep this up." Lucy complained with concern.

"But you like hi—"Lucy quickly covered Erza's mouth with her hands.

"Hehehe…" the blonde faked a laugh. "Anyways, Natsu how are you liking Fairy High so far?"

"Fine. I guess." Natsu shrugged as he remembered what had happened this morning. It wasn't a big deal to him that he was being targeted by bullies.

"Oh yeah, before I forget. Mama wants to invite you and Wendy-chan over for dinner tonight." Lucy said.

"Huh? What for?" Natsu asked. Erza just stared at the two in silence as they interacted.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's to celebrate you attending Fairy High." Lucy explained.

"Sure, I can use a home cook meal right now. Tell Layla-san I'll come over later tonight." Natsu smiled softly.

"You know Natsu. You've become a real softy." Lucy smirked.

"Are you guys always this close?" Erza asked out of the blue.

"Didn't I already tell you? Natsu and I are childhood friends. Isn't that right Natsu?" Lucy smiled.

"Sure, whatever." Natsu shrugged.

After school, Erza and Lucy walked home together, while Natsu went to pick up his sister, Wendy.

"So Natsu has a sister?" Erza asked Lucy.

"Well Wendy-chan is not his real sister. Natsu's father remarried with Wendy-chan's mother."

"I see. Does he have any other siblings?" Erza asked. Lucy frowned and looked uncomfortable after hearing Erza's question.

"Natsu doesn't really want anyone to know about his family. I don't think I have the right to tell you, so it would be better if you ask him yourself."

Erza raised a brow. "Oh, okay."

"Hey Erza, why don't you come over as well? I'm sure it'll be more exciting with more people." Lucy suggested.

Stars appeared in Erza's eyes. "Is Layla-san going to make strawberry cake?"

"Probably…" Lucy sighed.

"I'm down!" Erza shouted.

"Alright, come over at seven." Lucy smiled.

"Got it." Erza replied.

The two friends separated and walked their own path. Walking by herself now, she couldn't stop thinking about Natsu, even though she only met him a couple weeks back. She realized that Natsu may fit into the school nerd character, but he held many secrets. Erza wasn't usually the type of person to get into other people's business, but for some reason, she was attracted to the mysterious vibe that Natsu was giving off. When she got home, Erza didn't realize that she was being trailed by two figures.

It was now seven, and Erza got ready to go to Lucy's house. She tied her hair into a ponytail, wore a white tank top, and black tights. She was always looking forward to strawberry cake. It was her favourite food in the world. The technique to get Erza to like you, was to give her strawberry cake. Unfortunately, the boys who asked her out didn't know.

Reaching her best friend's house, she rang the doorbell and was greeted by Lucy's mother, Layla. Layla looked exactly like Lucy. If Layla and Lucy both wore the same clothes, they would be mistaken for identical twins.

"Hi Layla-san!" Erza greeted.

"ERZAAAAA!" the older woman gave the redhead a hug. "Come in Come in!" Layla smiled.

"Thanks for having me." Erza smiled.

"No problem! You're always welcome. Besides, you get to meet Lucy's boyfriend today." Layla giggled.

"I already met him. Natsu right?" Erza smiled.

"Yeah! Isn't he so cool?! If only I were twenty years younger." Layla frowned. In the kitchen, you can hear a man faking coughs.

"Huh…? Sure…?" Erza raised a brow with confusion.

"Mom! I can hear you!" Lucy yelled from upstairs.

"Sorry dear!" Layla giggled. "Anyways Erza, we can start dinner after Natsu and Wendy-chan arrives. Why don't you go upstairs and see what Lucy's doing while Jude-san and I finish up?"

Erza nodded and headed upstairs to Lucy's room. She politely knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Lucy yelled behind the door.

"Hi Lucy!" Erza greeted as she closed the door behind her. "Natsu not here yet?"

"Nope. Anyways Erza. When Natsu gets here, he may look a little different." Lucy said.

"Different? How so?" Erza questioned.

"You'll see his true self. I didn't tell him you were coming so he probably has his guard down." Lucy explained.

"Why would you do that? Won't he hate you for exposing him if he wanted to keep it a secret?" Erza asked.

"Probably… I just don't want him to be alone anymore. I want him to find someone else that he can trust, besides me. He only acts himself in front of me and my family. He's always being picked on in school and he never does anything. It's just like when he was in Magnolia High. He cut off all ties to his friends and became a loner. I'm always by his side, but I can't help him. He carries his burden all by himself and it pains me to see him like this." Lucy began to tear up. Erza quickly went by her side and gave her a hug.

"It's okay… I don't know anything that is going on, but I know one thing. He should be happy that someone like you is by his side." Erza comforted the crying blonde.

The doorbell rang and Layla called for the girls from downstairs.

"Lucy! Natsu's here! Could you open the door?! Your father and I are busy finishing up!"

Lucy wiped her tears and got up from her bed, but Erza stopped her.

"I'm not going to be mean, but you look like a mess." Erza giggled. Lucy looked at herself in the mirror, and it was true. She had tear stains on her cheeks, and her hair was kind of messy. "I'll go get it." Erza suggested and went downstairs.

Opening the door, Erza was greeted by a blue haired girl that was shorter and younger than her. What shocked her was the guy standing beside her. He was wearing a white short sleeved collar shirt and a pair of slim black jeans. He had spiky pink hair and was also wearing a familiar white scarf. A blush crept on to her face.

"Hey Luce! How've you be—" Natsu stopped after realizing who was in front of him. "ERZA?!" Natsu shouted.

"Hey Natsu. This must be your sister. Hi, I'm Erza! Nice to meet you!" Erza patted the younger girl on the head.

"Hi… I'm Wendy…" Wendy said shyly before looking down, nervously.

"Wendy is shy, but anyways. WHY ARE YOU HERE ERZA?!" Natsu shouted.

"Huh? Lucy invited me over. Got a problem?!" Erza smirked.

"Uhhh… Tell Lucy that I have something to do. Let's go Wendy!" Natsu tried to take off, but was dragged on the shirt by Erza.

Erza still had a smile on her face. "You're already here, so might as well eat before you go!"

Before Natsu knew it, he was sitting at the dinner table with Erza, Wendy, Lucy, and her parents.

"So Natsu, how's school?" Jude, Lucy's father asked.

"Good I guess…" Natsu said as he took a bite of his food.

"You know Natsu… if you're having trouble, you're welcome to stay with us." Layla smiled.

"No, it's alright. Thanks for the offer, but I rather be independent than relying on others." Natsu replied.

"But if you're here, Lucy would—"

"STOP THAT MAMA!" Lucy shouted with a blush on her cheeks.

After dinner, Lucy went to help clean up with her parents, while Natsu, Wendy, and Erza sat in the living room.

"Natsu, what's with the new look?" Erza asked.

"Uhhhh… I just wanted to try dressing up for a change…" Natsu lied.

"I see… I gotta admit. You look better in these clothes than the ones you wear at school." Erza smiled.

"Wow! Thanks! That makes me feel so much better!" Natsu replied sarcastically. Erza then turned to Wendy.

"Wendy how old are you?" Erza asked.

"Twelve…" Wendy replied shyly.

"Is your brother always such a loner?" Erza jokingly asked.

"Natsu-nii is not a loner!" Wendy shouted. Erza was brought back a little, surprised at the sudden outburst.

"Woah. Calm down Wendy." Natsu said, surprised at his little sister's reaction.

"Natsu-nii is the best in the world!" Wendy shouted.

"Alright, I got it." Erza replied. "He's the best in the world."

"That's funny coming from you, prez." Natsu smirked. Erza glared at him, but then softened up when she saw that he was not afraid.

"Wow, you're not scared of my glare?!" Erza shouted excitingly.

"Was I supposed to be?" Natsu yawned.

"Yeah! Everyone always run away when I do that!" Erza explained.

"Well I guess it's because I see that a lot. I mean, I'm always the one that everyone glares at." Natsu laughed,

"You know Natsu. If you act like this in school, I'm sure you'll be really popular, even among the girls." Erza giggled.

"Yeah… I guess…" Natsu replied as he stared off.

"If you have anything you want to say, you can trust me." Erza said seriously. Natsu became silent.

"Maybe one day… How about you? Got a boyfriend?" Natsu asked.

"I used to." Erza replied.

"Oh… interesting. What's he like?" Natsu asked.

"Well he was a nice guy. Even though we went to different schools, we still went out a lot. Oh yeah, he goes to the same school as you did." Erza answered.

"What's his name?" Natsu asked.

"Jellal." Erza replied, while looking down at the floor with a frown.

Natsu instantly knew who Jellal was. He was the second strongest in Magnolia High, next to the Salamander. Natsu remembered that in first year, there were rumors going around that Jellal had cheated on her girlfriend and that they broke up.

'So Erza was the rumored girlfriend…'

Even though they went to the same school, Natsu was not really close with Jellal. However, he did know of Jellal's plans and that he may seem like a good person on the outside, but he's totally different on the inside.

"So how did you guys break up? I mean, who would want to break up with such a pretty girl." Natsu smirked, faking that he doesn't know what had happened between the ex-couple. He expected the redhead to freak out at his teasing, but he got the opposite. Erza was now tearing up as she remembers her days with Jellal.

"He… cheated on me with another girl…" Erza sniffled.

Freaking out, Natsu quickly tried to comfort the girl.

"I'm sorry! Don't cry!" Natsu shouted as he waved at the girl.

"Natsu-nii! You made Erza-san cry!" Wendy shouted.

Hearing the commotion, Lucy came out of the kitchen to see what the three of them were doing.

"What happened?!" Lucy shouted as she saw her best friend crying.

"Natsu-nii made Erza-san cry!" Wendy shouted.

"It wasn't intentional!" Natsu tried to cover up.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted. Before Lucy could punch him, Erza grabbed her arm.

"I'm fine now…" Erza sniffled.

"Thank goodness!" Natsu wiped the sweat off his face.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted again.

"Anyways… I guess I'll go now. Thanks for today Lucy." Erza got up and headed for the door.

"Natsu, go walk Erza home. You can pick Wendy up after." Lucy demanded.

"What?! Why?!" Natsu shouted.

"It's already ten. It's dangerous for a girl to walk home by herself this late. Besides, it's raining." Lucy explained.

"I guess I have no choice do I…." Natsu sighed. Natsu quickly got up and ran after the redhead.

"Erza, I'll walk you home." Natsu said, while scratching the back of his head and looking somewhere else.

"Sure." Erza smiled softly. Natsu's heart skipped a beat when she saw her smile. It was one of the prettiest things he had ever seen.

It was raining hard, and Natsu was holding an umbrella for the two of them. Even with an umbrella, they were still getting soaked. Passing by the local convenience store, Natsu thought that one umbrella wasn't enough so he gave the current umbrella to Erza, and ran to buy another.

After Natsu left, Erza waited for him outside. However, she didn't notice the two figures behind her. They were both wearing full black with a mask on. One of them covered her mouth, and they both dragged her away. She tried to fight back, but she couldn't fend off against two people at once. The only thing she left behind was the umbrella.

Her two captors dragged her to the nearby alleyway and pushed her to the ground. Her tank top was ripped, and her black bra was exposed.

"Who are you people?!" Erza shouted, trying not to show fear in her voice. The two figures didn't reply. They tried to get the remains of her top off, but she tried to fight them off. One of them tried to slap her across the face, and Erza closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. However, the captor's hand was caught by someone. When the captor turned to see who it was, he was punched in the face. His partner also turned but he got kicked in the stomach. Erza opened her eyes to see a male with pink hair in front of her.

"You know, it really was a hassle to come out of the store to see that you were gone. You even made me drop my new bought umbrella when I ran around looking for you."

The two got back up and began to retaliate. One of them jumped at Natsu, but he quickly fended him off. At first they tried to fight Natsu one at a time, but he easily dodged their attacks. Then after, they both came at him at once. Their moves were perfectly in sync. One of them tried to kick Natsu on the side, but he blocked it with his arm. However, he didn't see the elbow aiming at his face, and he was knocked back.

"I've seen these moves before…" Natsu whispered to himself.

However, Natsu was confident. He gestured the two to come at him once again. One of them tried to punch him in the face, while the other tried to sneak up behind him. Natsu saw it coming and did a backflip to do a powerful kick to the one in front of him in the face. He then elbowed the one behind him in the abdomen. Erza was in awe when he saw Natsu beat the two of them. At this moment, she thought that Natsu was cool.

Facing defeat, the two of them limped away. Natsu tried to run after them, but Erza called out to him.

"Natsu, I'm fine. Don't run after them." Erza stuttered.

Looking at Erza, he blushed. She was all wet, and her top was ripped. Her bra was showing as she laid on the ground.

"Natsu I—" before she could finish, Natsu pushed her against the wall and hovered over her. He put his hands beside her head and moved his body up to hers until they touched. He faced towards her, and moved closer until their foreheads touched. Looking at each other in the eye, Erza began to blush. Their lips were so close that Erza could feel his breath.

"Natsu what are you—"

"Shhh!"

Two people were walking by the alleyway and they saw a guy on top of a girl against a wall.

"Get a room you two!" One of them said as the other one laughed. Natsu turned around and used his most intimidating glare. The two of them were scared and ran off. After they were gone, Natsu got off of Erza.

"Sorry. They were people form our school. It would be troublesome for them to find out that the prez was in this type of situation." Natsu explained. Erza just nodded in response. "I'm sure you're traumatized right now, so I'll take you home." Natsu unbuttoned his shirt, took it off, and placed it around Erza to cover her body.

"But you'll get a cold." Erza said.

"Don't worry about it. A cold would never bring me down. Besides, I'll probably get a nosebleed and bleed to death if you don't cover up." Natsu jokingly said to lighten up the mood. Erza smiled softly and accepted the shirt.

 **A/N: Yay done another chapter! Please continue to review as it motivates me to continue writing.**

 **Didn't get a chance to read this over so I'll try to edit this later if there are any mistakes.**


	5. Chapter 5

Erza right now, is feeling terrible. She was about to get assaulted without being able to do anything. Luckily for her, Natsu came in the nick of time and rescued her. Being the gentleman he is, he lent his shirt to her for comfort… is what he wants Erza to think. In reality, Natsu just couldn't stop staring at her.

The walk to the redhead's house was slow and silent. Natsu found it awkward to start a conversation so he just kept quiet. He also got many stares from passing cars since he was topless. Looking at Erza, he saw her staring depressingly at the ground, and that ruined the atmosphere. Not to mention that it was raining heavily. All he could do was to comfort her by placing his hand on her shoulder. He wanted her to know that he was there, there for her.

Coming up to Erza's house, Natsu bid farewell to the girl, and was about to go back to Lucy's to pick up Wendy. He thought that she needed some alone time by herself. However, Erza had a different idea. Blushing, Erza gave Natsu her suggestion.

"Hey. Since it's still raining, why don't you come in and wait until the weather clears up? You really will catch a cold." Erza smiled. Natsu could see through her façade. "Don't mind if I do." Natsu faked a smile in return. After walking into her house, he turned around to lock the door. When he turned back, he was attacked. Erza rested her head and hands on Natsu's bare chest. The male was surprised for a moment, but slowly, he wrapped one arm around her back. They stood silent for a moment, feeling each other's touch.

"Erza…" Natsu whispered. When the girl looked up at his gaze, he could see tears running down her red cheeks.

"I was so scared… I don't know what would have happened if it weren't for you!" Erza cried. Natsu brought Erza's head back to his chest with his other arm, which surprised her.

"No. It was my fault for leaving you in the first place. I'm sorry you had to endure such an awful experience." Natsu mumbled.

After a while, the two broke apart, with Erza blushing furiously. Natsu also enjoyed the moment, but is trying his best to hide it. Taking up Erza's offer, he went into the bathroom and quickly took a shower. Using her hair dryer, he dried off his underwear and pants. His shirt was still with Erza.

After dressing only his bottom, he walked out of the bathroom to see that Erza was already dried and wearing a black tank top and red short shorts, with her hair in a ponytail. His eyes widened at her beauty.

When she noticed that Natsu was staring, she began to blush and avoid his gaze.

"Hehehe… sorry. I forgot that I still had your shirt." Erza faked a laugh. She picked up the shirt that was now dried, and gave it back to Natsu.

"Thanks." Natsu smiled.

While Natsu was getting dressed, Erza just stared. She didn't realize it before, but Natsu was actually quite well built, with abs. She never would have thought that the school nerd with have a body like his.

"The rain is still pouring…" Natsu sighed as he looked out the window.

"Yeah… why don't you call Wendy and tell her to stay at Lucy's house for the night. I don't think the rain is going to die down anytime soon." Erza suggested. Natsu just nodded and called Lucy to tell her to let Wendy stay for the night.

"What?! Why?!" Lucy shouted.

"Because it's raining and I don't want to get wet!" Natsu shouted back.

"Who cares? Don't you always say that you wouldn't get sick?" Lucy responded.

"It doesn't matter. You told me to go, so it's your fault." Natsu yelled and hung up.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Erza asked as she sat down on her couch.

"Yeah. Lucy and Wendy are close so she was probably going to tell Wendy to stay over anyways. She just wanted to tease me." Natsu huffed.

"Lucy is a nice girl. You know that right Natsu?" Erza smiled softly.

Natsu didn't respond and just faced the other way. He looked kind of pissed so Erza thought that she made him mad. However, Natsu wasn't mad at her, he was mad at the event that happened earlier.

"By the way… sorry for troubling you earlier…" Erza mumbled as she blushed. Natsu turned around and raised a brow. "For what?"

"You know… after coming in…" Erza took a pillow and covered her face to hide her embarrassment.

Natsu stared at her confused. He didn't think it was trouble. In fact, he was enjoying the moment.

"It's cool." Natsu responded. Erza peeped at him through the pillow to see him giggling.

"It's rude to laugh." Erza pouted.

Natsu just continued to giggle. "You know prez, you're actually pretty cute."

Erza's eyes widened so much that it was covering half her face. Her cheeks defined why her last name was Scarlet. After catching her breath, she stared at Natsu seriously.

"Natsu, sit down. I need to tell you something." Erza said. Natsu not knowing what's going on, followed her order.

"I never told anyone this. Not even to Lucy. Only one other person knows, so I'm, trusting you." Erza said.

"Then why are you telling me?" Natsu asked with curiosity.

"Because I feel like I can trust you." Erza blushed. Natsu nodded in response.

"So what happened earlier… about ten years ago, I experienced something similar." Erza began. Natsu was shocked to hear that she had already experienced something as traumatizing as that.

"When I was eight, while playing by myself near the park, I began to journey on further away. I wanted to explore. While I was walking, a few boys, about eleven and twelve years of age, followed me. When I realized that I was being followed, it was already too late. They covered my mouth and tried to kidnap me. I wanted to scream and yell for help, but I couldn't. I tried kicking and punching, but it was no use. I was just too weak. All I could do was cry. However, when I thought that I would never see my parents again, that was when I met him. A blue haired boy, same age as me. He punched the one that was covering my mouth in the face. The boy had a talent. He was able to fend off a bunch of older boys by himself. When they gang of boys left, the blue haired boy reached out his hand to me. That was when I first started liking him. Our relationship started back in middle school after he asked me out. He was kind, gentle, and always smiling. We went out for a few years and thought that I was the luckiest girl in the world. Unfortunately, we went to different high schools, but we still kept in touch. But, during the year, he began to act differently. He was more distant, and I could feel violence radiating off him. He was not the same person I knew back when we were younger. He was also doing things behind my back, and I decided to end our relationship because I couldn't take it anymore. The one I loved was Jellal…" Erza exhaled after telling her story. Natsu stared at her with worry.

"I'm pathetic aren't I? After breaking up with him, my heart is still in pain. I tried to meet new guys, but I always end up rejecting them all." Erza began to tear up. Natsu just shook his head.

"I don't think you're pathetic." Natsu responded.

"Really?" Erza looked at him.

"Yeah. I think you're brave. You told me, a guy that you met only a few weeks ago, your story. You never even told Lucy about it. So I thank you for trusting me." Natsu grinned. This made Erza's heart skip a beat.

"You know Natsu… back there, you reminded me a lot about the past Jellal. The Jellal that saved my life." Erza wiped her tears and smiled in return.

Natsu's smirked maliciously at Erza. "Oh. So does that mean you have fallen for me?"

Realizing what Natsu had said, the redhead quickly heated up in embarrassment.

"It's not like that! Anyways, its 2am and the rain stopped. You should go home!" Erza squealed.

"But I wanted to spend the night here… with you…" Natsu continued to tease. Erza's mouth dropped to the floor. Her face was as red as her hair.

"By the way, where are your parents?" Natsu asked out of curiosity, noticing that no one else was home.

"My parents passed away three years ago in an accident." Erza frowned.

"Oh. I'm sorry for your loss. But hey! At least we have one thing in common!" Natsu faked a smile.

"What happened to your parents?" Erza asked.

"My birth mother died when I was one. My father and step mother… they died in an accident when I was nine. At that time, Wendy was only three." Natsu responded.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Erza frowned.

"It's okay. I barely remember them anyways. So anyways… can I spend the night here with you?" Natsu asked.

"No!" Erza shouted in embarrassment.

"Hehehe. Just kidding! Like I said before. It's cute when you're being teased. Anyways see you at school, prez!" Natsu giggled as he closed the door behind him.

"Wait-!" She wanted to chat with him longer. He was still a mystery to her. She wanted to ask him many questions and get to know him better.

Erza was just staring at the door after the male left. Her heart was pounding against her chest, just like the first time she had met Jellal.

 **A/N: Leave a review if you wish**


	6. Chapter 6

The day after the incident, Erza couldn't get much sleep due to the all of the events that occurred. She yawned and rose from her bed to get ready for another of school. Today she was extra excited to go to class and she didn't know why. Maybe it's because she wanted to see a certain someone again. Dressing in her school attire and tying her hair back, she walked out her house with a smile.

Erza remembered that Wendy stayed over at Lucy's place yesterday and thought that Natsu might be picking her up right now. With excitement, she texted Lucy, telling her that she was going to meet her at her house today so that they could walk to school together.

Arriving in front of the blonde's house, she saw Lucy and Wendy putting on their shoes. She looked around, but couldn't find a pink haired boy.

"Hi Wendy, Lucy." Erza bowed.

"Hey Erza!" Lucy greeted.

"Hi Erza-san!" Wendy smiled.

"Where's Natsu?" Erza raised a brow when she figured out that Natsu was not present. The question earned Erza a suspicious look from Lucy.

"Why are you looking for him?" Lucy's face slowly turning into a smirk.

Erza began to sweat and stutter. "N-n-nothing… I just thought that he might have come to pick Wendy up." Lucy just kept smirking at her.

"Natsu-nii said he was sick so he's staying at home today." Wendy frowned.

"Sick? I thought he said he never gets sick." Erza raised a brow.

"Well you should see him when he gets on transportation." Lucy giggled.

"Why? What happens when he gets on transportation?" Erza asked.

"You'll see one day." Lucy smiled.

The two elder girls walked the younger girl to school before making way to theirs. Lucy had a smile on the entire way. Erza also had a smile on, but it was just a façade. She was thinking about a certain male. She couldn't stop worrying about him, not to mention the fact that the reason he got sick was because of her.

Realizing that Natsu was all over her mind, she quickly smashed her two hands against each side of her face. She began to shake her head rapidly while chanting "he's just a friend he's just a friend he's just a friend he's just a friend"

Lucy looking at her friend couldn't help but laugh at the scene. "What's going on Erza?" the blonde said as she giggled. "You're acting strange."

Getting back to reality, she looked at Lucy. "Nothing." She said simply and began to walk again. The rest of the walk to school was silent.

During class, Erza couldn't pay attention to her lessons. All she could think about was the pink haired boy. She thought about the possibility of her falling for him, but she tried to shake it out of her mind. After all, Lucy likes him so she didn't want to get in her way. She now thought that the reason she was feeling like this was because of guilt. He did save her life after all. Not to mention, she thought he was actually quite cool when he did.

After going through a few periods, it was finally lunch time. Erza met Lucy at their usual spot. They sat in silence for moments because Erza didn't know what to say to her friend. Like how could she? She was practically day dreaming about the person she liked. The redhead poked at her strawberry cake while in thought. However, Lucy was able to tell that Erza was beating herself up. It was pretty obvious since she wasn't eating her cake.

"It's okay Erza. You don't have to hide it. I already know what happened." Lucy said.

Erza froze and her eyes widened. "You do?!"

"Yeah." Lucy nodded.

"But how?!" Erza shouted.

"Well you're acting strange…" Lucy giggled. Erza's face began to redden.

"I-it's nothing…" Erza turned away from her friend's gaze.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't. But if you need someone to talk to, I'm always here for you." Lucy comforted the girl.

Now Erza was feeling extra guilty. Not only was she day dreaming about the person she liked, now she's also hiding secrets from her friend. Guilt was now overwhelming her. If she didn't tell her what happened, she probably wouldn't be able to face her friend anymore. Erza took a deep breath and looked Lucy in the eyes.

"Lucy, I have to telling you something." Erza spoke.

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

The redhead shut her eyes and began to speak quickly. "Yesterday when Natsu was walking me home, we encountered an incident. I was about to get assaulted by these two figures, but Natsu came and rescued me! My clothes were torn so he lent me his shirt! I didn't want it but he said he would die from a nose bleed if I didn't take it so I had no choice but to accept his offer! I mean, I didn't want him to die! After, he walked me home and I invited him inside to take a shower before he caught a cold, which he did I guess. I didn't know what happened after but I went and hugged him! Maybe it was because I was scared and needed someone by my side. After that we talked for a few hours. I told him about myself and Jellal, and he began to comfort me. He left afterwards, but my heart couldn't stop pounding after he was gone. I think I have fallen for him but I'm not sure! It's probably because he saved my life and that made me fall for him! You can hate me! You can ignore me! But I was just wanted to say, I'm sorry Lucy!" Erza bowed repeatedly.

Erza was expecting Lucy to hate her for life and she was expecting it, but Lucy didn't say anything. Erza looked up at Lucy and the blonde gave the redhead a hug.

"You're so silly." Lucy said.

"Huh? Don't you hate me?" Erza asked, with tears in her eyes.

"Of course not." Lucy comforted the girl.

"But… But… I may have fallen for Natsu…" Erza sobbed.

"I told you didn't I? I will support you no matter what." Lucy smiled as she pulled away.

"Really… I'm not even sure if I like him like that…" Erza wiped her tears.

"That may be so… but if it's true, I will support you one hundred and ten percent!" Lucy shouted.

"But what about you?" Erza asked.

"I'm fine. I already knew that I had no chance with him in the first place. He sees me as a sister, and no matter how many times I confess, he still wouldn't accept me. That's just how he is. I'm just happy that we're still friends. Besides, didn't I tell you? He may not look like it now, but he was actually quite popular with the ladies back at his old school, so it's not surprising that you had fallen for him as well." Lucy smiled.

Erza's face became as red as her. She was glad that she was able to have this bond with Lucy.

* * *

It was now after school at Magnolia High. Students were walking out the building with weird stares at someone standing in front of their school. The students whispered at each other, not knowing why the person was there. Another student came out of the building with blue hair. The blue haired student looked at the stranger and smirked maliciously before leaving. Two students came out afterwards. One with blonde spiky hair and one with messy black hair. When the person saw those two walking out, they moved in front of them.

"Sting, Rogue." The stranger said.

"Well look who came to visit." Sting smirked.

"What are you doing here? We have no business with you." Rogue stared at the person.

"I'm not here to start a fight. You two know exactly what happened yesterday." The person said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sting continued to smirk.

"Yesterday, at night. Two masked figures tried to assault my friend." The person said.

"So what?" Sting asked.

"I could recognize those fighting techniques anywhere. Fighting in full synchronization. They don't call you two the twin dragons for nothing." The person replied.

Sting took a step back and his smirked disappeared. Rogue was also shocked but he stood up to the person.

"Look Natsu! We have nothing to do with you anymore after you left. The glory days of Salamander are over!" Rogue shouted. The commotion caused the other students to look at the three.

"Like I said before. I'm not here to start a fight. I will forgive you this time, but if it ever happens again, it will be war." Natsu glared at the two before walking off.

The two males froze from the heavy tension. Natsu turned back around to face them. "Oh yeah. Tell Jellal that, if he ever hurts Erza again, I will not go easy on him."

The twin dragons shivered at the sight of Natsu's stare. They had felt the presence of a fire breathing dragon.

A blue haired boy who watched everything from afar, smirked.

"Interesting…"

 **A/N: Please leave a review if you like! Thank you!**


	7. Chapter 7

The following day at school, Erza was surprised when she entered the classroom. Natsu was back in his "nerdy" clothes with his big framed glasses. He was sitting in silent, staring out the window. His gaze changed when he felt a presence standing in front of him.

"Morning Mr. I never get sick." Erza smiled.

Natsu sighed in response. "You don't have to rub it in… and morning."

"Well you're the one that said you don't get sick." Erza frowned.

Realizing that Erza had a frown on, Natsu took the opportunity to tease her a little. "What's with the face? Did you miss me that much? I've only been gone for a day." Natsu smirked.

"Shut up!" Erza shouted and went back to get her seat. She couldn't hide her flustered face.

"What's with all the ruckus so early in the morning?" Lucy asked when she stopped by Natsu. "Anyways, you feeling better?" Natsu nodded in response. "Expected. You never get sick." Lucy sighed. Natsu grinned in response, flashing his true self for a second.

Whispering something to Natsu, the blonde walked up to Erza and told the redhead that she'll be sitting with Natsu today. Erza nodded and watched as her best friend made her way to the back of the room.

Erza didn't know why Lucy wanted to sit with Natsu today, but she felt uncomfortable. She kept staring at the two during class, and they seem to be closer than usual. Lucy was constantly whispering to Natsu while he just nods with a blank face. He looked at Erza for a second and the redhead quickly turned her gaze.

Erza's heart was pounding against her chest. Ever since two days ago, her mind was filled with a pink haired boy that saved her life. It was similar to back then, with Jellal. However, even though Erza admits that she may have feelings for Natsu, she was not sure if she should pursue them. What if he's Jellal 2.0? What if he breaks her heart, the same as him? Many thoughts ran through the redhead's mind as she thought about her future with Natsu, and that's only if they become a thing. She didn't even know if Natsu liked her back. Besides, it could just be a random crush and it would go away in a few days and everything will be back to normal.

Before Erza knew it, the bell had rung and the students were already making their way to their next period class. Hurrying to get up for her next class, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and her heart jumped.

"C'mon prez or we're going to be late for our next class." Natsu said before walking in front. Hurrying, she quickly caught up to Natsu.

"You know Natsu, why are you still acting like this at school? I mean, I already found out that this is not your true self. There's no need to hide it." Erza said. Natsu didn't say anything in response and just kept walking.

When they arrived to their next class, the teacher handed out their next assignment. It was the first chemistry lab of the year and it was in partners. Students were already eyeing each other, and calling dibs on who's with who.

"I can see that you guys are excited for this lab, buttttttttt… I'll be the one choosing your partners." the teacher giggled. The entire class was filled with "awws", sighs and head shaking.

"Anyways… Gray and Juvia you two will be partners."

Juvia quickly dashed towards Gray and crushed him in a bear hug. "Juvia always knew that we were meant for each other!" The blue haired girl squealed in excitement. Gray's face went from pale to purple in a matter of seconds.

"Uhhh… s-s-senseiii… can I work with Erza-a?" Gray tried his best to form words.

"I don't mind." Erza responded.

Gray was probably Erza's closest guy friend. They always have each other's back and Gray knew that Erza was a genius, and a lazy guy like him would love to free load off of her. However, his suggestion made Juvia's hold on him tighten.

"NOO! GRAY-SAMA WILL BE MINE AND MINE ALONE!" Juvia glared at the teacher. Gray's ghost can be seen leaving his body.

"Hehehehe…" The teacher sweat dropped. "Unfortunately Gray… I'm going to pair Erza with Natsu." the teacher said. That got Erza's attention.

"Since Natsu is new to the school, and Erza's the president of the student council, it would be a great choice to pair them up together. Also Gray, don't think that I don't know what you're trying to do. Last year, you always chose Erza as a partner so that you could get an easy mark." The teacher said. Gray sighed in defeat.

"Today you'll be doing the experiment in class, and then you'll take it home to do the calculations. Now move to your partner and begin."

Erza was blushing. She didn't think that in a million years that she would be partnered up with Natsu. This lab also requires them to go somewhere after school to do the calculations. Which means that they'll be spending time after school as well.

She snapped back to reality when someone sat down in front of her.

"Well… Let's get started…" Natsu mumbled.

"Right." Erza nodded.

The entire time they were doing the lab, it was kind of silent. Erza didn't know what to say to Natsu and Natsu was concentrating on the lab. If Erza didn't see Natsu in his clothes that he wore outside of school, then Natsu right now would really be like a nerd. He was carrying through the lab, and guiding Erza.

"Woah! Don't do that!" Natsu shouted while gripping on Erza's wrist. "If you mix the sulfur with the potassium chlorate, I won't be your partner anymore." Natsu mumbled. His sudden outburst caused the class to look at him.

"He's weird…" Natsu could hear his classmates whisper about him. He let go of Erza and went back to work. Erza saw this and tried to scold her classmates but Natsu stopped her.

"It's fine." Natsu said.

"But why?!" Erza responded. "Are you really not going to get along with anyone else?" Natsu didn't respond, and continued working. Erza didn't know what to say anymore. Natsu was clearly ignoring her.

The rest of the class was silent. Finishing their experiment fifteen minutes early, Natsu began working on the calculations. Erza just watched in awe. Before class was over, Natsu had finish all the calculations and handed in the assignment. Even the teacher was shocked, even if Erza was in the group.

The bell had rung, and it was now lunch time. Like every day, Erza and Natsu walked to their meeting spot with Lucy. However, this time, their walk was silent and awkward. When they arrived to their destination, Lucy was already there, but this time, there were three more guys.

"Loke, I told you already. I already like someone!" the blonde yelled at the man.

"How can you like someone other than me?!" Loke yelled.

"Loke! Even if you pursue me every day, I still won't like you so just give up!" Lucy yelled.

"How can you say that to Loke?!" One of Loke's boys interrupted.

"Loke, what should we do with her?" The other one said. Loke shook his head. "Nothing yet…"

"Listen Lucy… why don't you just give me a chance?" Loke asked politely.

"Look Loke. If Lucy doesn't want to go out with you, then just drop it." Erza said as she stepped in. Natsu followed behind her.

"Erza?" Lucy smiled.

"Hey look, it's Erza and the nerd!" Loke laughed. The two others laughed as well.

He then turned his gaze back to Lucy, and his face was menacing. "Don't tell me the one you like is that loser over there." Loke pointed at Natsu. Lucy was surprised by what he said and began to avert her gaze off of the male.

"It is isn't it?! How can I lose to a guy like him?!" Loke shouted. "What does he have that I don't?! I'm better looking and stronger than him! How is that possible?!" Loke gripped on to Lucy's wrists.

"Ow!" Lucy yelled. "You're hurting me!"

"Loke! If you don't stop this madness now, I will have you suspended!" Erza shouted as she ran towards the male. Loke's two friends ran away from the enraged president, but Loke stayed still.

"Shut up!" Loke shouted. "I'm not afraid of you Erza." Loke smirked. "I don't like how you always get in my way, so I'll teach you a lesson."

Quickly, Loke let go of Lucy and quickly formed a fist with his hand. He pulled back his fist and launched it at the redhead in front of him. Erza couldn't react fast enough to dodge the attack and she closed her eyes shut. Moments passed by, and Erza didn't feel anything. She opened her eyes and was shocked to see what had happened. Natsu had gripped onto Loke's arm with his hand and stopped the attack right before it could connect with Erza.

"Why you little…" Loke gritted his teeth. Loke's face then scrunched up in pain. "What is this strength…?" Loke shouted as Natsu began to grip his arm harder.

Natsu had a slight mark on his face. "Listen, I don't care what you do to me, but there are three things in this world that I hate." He pointed one finger up from his other hand. "Number one. Transportation, I can't stand that." He then lifted another finger up. "Number two. My friends getting hurt." Erza and Lucy began to blush. Natsu then lifted his third finger up. "And number three. The people who cause it." With that, Loke was welcomed with a bruise on the face, and a bloody nose.

 **A/N: I'm deeply sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time! I went to another country for a month with no computer and I just got back about five hours ago after typing this.**


	8. Chapter 8

Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Loke were sitting at the school's main office with Makarov, the school principle, glaring at them. It was just a few minutes after the beating Natsu gave to Loke. A teacher was present at the scene and witnessed everything. The four of them were eventually sent to the office for their commotion.

"There shall be no fighting in my school!" the old man shouted at the group. "Here in Fairy High, we are a family, and family must look out for each other. Do you guys understand?"

Loke pointed at the pink haired boy, who was sitting across from him. "He was the one who started it!"

The three victims stared at Loke with wide eyes, not sure if they were hearing him correctly.

"What do you mean I was the one who started it?! If my eyes are correct, you were the one who was harassing Lucy and threw the first punch at Erza!" Natsu retaliated.

"You two were the one who interrupted me when I was talking to Lucy!" Loke yelled.

"Loke, I already told you that I like someone else!" Lucy blushed furiously as said person was sitting next to him.

"That's right Loke. And according to school rules, being physical towards others is a crime, and can you suspended or even expelled." Erza added.

Loke turned to Makarov. "Principle! These three are clearly against me! This isn't fair! If I were to be punished, so should they!"

Makarov closed his eyes and shook his head in frustration. There was nothing more annoying for him than watching four people fight about relationships. Back in his days, everyone falls for the strongest. If you were weak, then have fun trying to find love. But, it's not that much different right now. Clearly, Lucy and Erza are on Natsu's side. It was not actually surprising to the old man. He knew Natsu's parents, and knew who he really was. After all, Makarov was the one who helped Natsu get into the school in the first place. It was all to show homage to his father.

"Loke, aren't you considered to be one of the toughest of our school? I'm surprised that the transfer student was able to give you a beating like that." Makarov giggled slightly at Loke, but tried to keep his cool.

Loke was speechless. "… I actually have no idea… it must've been a fluke or he caught me by surprise."

Natsu tried to contain his laughter. "Whatever you say…" Natsu whistled as he turned his head to face the side. His face was clearly showing his cockiness. He couldn't help himself anyways. He was finally able to get back at Loke after holding it for so long. It's like holding in your pee for a long time, and then just letting go.

"Oh please, you wanna go again?" Loke rolled his sleeves up.

Makarov coughed. "Like I saw before, we are family, and family should look out for each other."

"I don't accept him as my family!" Loke shouted.

"This is getting nowhere!" Lucy shouted.

While the group continued to argue, they were interrupted by the opening of the office door. Standing there was a buffed male with spiked yellow hair. He was wearing a black t-shirt with olive green pants.

"Laxus…?" Erza was surprised. She hadn't seen the guy in ages.

"Woah, you guys having a party or something?" Laxus asked as he threw his bag on to a chair.

"Laxus… what are you doing here?" Lucy asked.

"What do you mean? I can't come to school?" Laxus replied.

"I called him here." Makarov spoke.

Laxus looked at Erza, to Lucy, and then Loke. "Wow Loke! What happened to you?!" the male burst out laughing, whole holding his stomach. He was cracking up. He noticed that Loke had bandages around him and he clearly looked like he had just lost a fight.

"Shut up Laxus!" Loke yelled.

Laxus then turned his attention and unfamiliar face. "hohoho, who do we have here?" Laxus smirked.

"He's the new transfer student that came here about a month ago. I'm sure you have never met him since you NEVER show up to class." Erza explained.

"Oh. I know who he is." Laxus continued his smirk. Natsu looked at him with a serious expression.

"You do?" Erza questioned.

"Why if it isn't the almighty salamander of Magnolia High." Laxus laughed.

"…" Silence filled the room.

Erza slowly turned her head around to face Natsu. "… You're… the salamander…?!"

"No I'm not!" Natsu quickly replied, with sweat running down his back. Lucy was also feeling nervous.

Laxus went up to Natsu and took off his glasses, and messed up his hair. "Don't bullshit me salamander. Even with your glasses on and your style of clothing, I only know of one man with that hair color of yours." Laxus chuckled.

"OH CRAP! NO WONDER I THOUGHT YOUR HAIR WAS SO FAMILIAR! YOU'RE THE SALAMANDER!" Loke yelled.

"Thanks a lot Laxus…" Natsu sighed in defeat. "You just had to show up right now didn't you?"

"Well gramps called for something important, or else I wouldn't even be here." Laxus yawned.

Erza was still frozen in her state. She never expected that the person sitting beside her was the person she admired. Not to mention, he was always this close to her, and she even began to feel something for him.

"Anyways, Lucy and Erza. I need you two to return to your class. I have something important to talk about with these three." Makarov said. "You are dismissed.

Lucy and Erza looked at each other with confusion, but obeyed their principle's orders. Lucy knew that after they walk out the room, Erza would have many questions for her.

Walking out, Erza was still shocked. She kept asking herself if it was true. She saw flashbacks of him helping her and his fight with Loke not too long ago. She pretty much confirmed to herself that he was the real deal. She was going to get answers today.

"You knew all along?" Erza asked. Lucy nodded.

"I see… How come you didn't tell me?" Erza asked.

"Come with me, and I'll tell you everything. Everything you want to know about Natsu." Lucy replied.

Lucy led the way while Erza followed. The redhead was excited now. She was finally going to get the truth of Natsu. She was so excited that she was even willing to skip class. The two girls found a bench outside the school, by the park. There was no one there right now since classes are going on.

"To be honest, I don't think I have the right to tell you this, but holding this secret is incredibly tough. Seeing him go through everything without having the ability to help. I feel useless." Lucy explained.

"It's okay, just tell me everything that you want me to know." Erza smiled.

"Let's see… where do I begin? I guess I'll start with his past." Lucy suggested. "You know that Natsu's parents died when he was young right?" Lucy asked. The redhead nodded. "So after his parents left, Natsu, and Wendy became orphans. But I guess that he didn't tell you he had a brother, right?"

Erza shook her head. "He has a brother?"

"Yeah, five years older than him. His name was Zeref. Zeref loved his siblings and would give up anything for them. At the age of fourteen, he held the responsibility of taking care of Natsu and Wendy. My parents knew their parents and gave them an offer for them to stay with us. However, they declined. Zeref was thankful for the offer, but he decided to do what an older brother should do. That is, to take care of his family." Lucy continued.

"He did anything to help them survive, even if it meant stealing from others. He thought that in order to make the best life possible for the two of them, he would need to get connections. That was also his biggest mistake. He ended up joining a gang, the Balam Alliance. He worked for them for years, gaining experience and money, even if it meant doing dirty work. This was enough to get them food and a place to live. Zeref was also considered as a notable fighter. He was one of the tops of the gang, and he was the one who taught Natsu how to fight to protect himself and Wendy if he weren't there. At that time, Natsu was already around twelve."

"So Zeref must've been a strong fella, if he was the master of salamander." Erza said. Lucy nodded.

"He would make Natsu look like what Natsu made Loke like before. Anyways, A few years later, Natsu would enter high school and be what he is known as today, salamander. You know, in team tournaments, the teams are stacked and they fight one versus one, and the team member that gets defeated is replaced by their other team mates until they are all defeated? Well Natsu had a team, but they never got the chance to fight. That's how strong he was. Next year was the same thing, he was victorious throughout the year. However, something unfaithful happened near the end of the year. Wendy had gotten deeply sick. In order to save Wendy's life, she had to undergo surgery. This surgery costed a lot, and they didn't have enough. We tried to give them money, but Zeref didn't want it. He said he was going to save Wendy by himself. In order, to save Wendy, Zeref stole a lot of money from the Balam Alliance, which would anger them. He didn't care if they held grudges against him. His biggest priority was Wendy. The operation was successful and Wendy got better. However, Zeref was now deemed as a traitor by the Balam Alliance, and they went searching for him." Tears began to form in Lucy's eyes.

"What's wrong Lucy? Why are you crying?!" Erza shouted.

"I'm fine… let me continue… After he was deemed a traitor, Zeref believed that it was too dangerous to stay at their place so they moved out. Zeref left Natsu and Wendy at our place, while he ran away. We tried to help him, but Zeref didn't want us to get involved. A few weeks of running, they had finally caught him. Three members of the gang had found him. He put up a fight, and was able to knock out two of them. However, the third one had a gun, and Zeref was shot before he could knock him out. No matter how strong you are, a gun will always be superior in the end." Lucy wiped her tears.

Erza didn't know what to think at the moment. She couldn't comprehend everything that was going on.

"He was still alive, but barely hanging on. He used the last of his strength to get back to our place. We tried to get him to a hospital but he said he didn't need to go. Instead, he used his last breath to tell his siblings that he loved them. He told Natsu to not become like him, and get involved with fights. He told him to do well in school and to become a role model for Wendy. In the end, Natsu and Wendy held a funeral for Zeref by themselves, and moved out of our place because he said that they were on the Balam Alliance's target next. He didn't want to get us involved. Natsu wanted to keep this as low key as possible. He still went to school daily, but extra careful. He would always take Wendy to school and back, fearing that something may happen to her. This ties into the reason why he had quit fighting at the end of second year."

Erza was tearing up hearing the story of Zeref. Even if she had never met him before, and had only met Natsu for about a month, she still felt sad for him.

"As salamander, he gets a lot of attention. A lot of unwanted attention. Especially from the girls. There was this one girl, named Lisanna. Usually, whenever a girl asked Natsu out, he would reject them because he didn't feel that they wanted to be with him because they loved him. It was more like for popularity and attention. He ended up accepting one girl, and that was Lisanna. Lisanna, would of course brag about going out with the salamander, and Natsu never really tried to do anything with her. During the last tournament of the year, on the final round, Natsu went into the nurse's office to get a few band aids because he got his knee scraped while fighting in the other rounds. Usually he wouldn't get injuries, but I guess his brother was on his mind and he got distracted. After walking into the nurse's office, he found Lisanna, making out with his opponent in the final round. Lisanna was scared and tried to explain herself, but Natsu left without saying anything. During the fight, Natsu knocked his opponent out in one punch. He turned to Lisanna, and said that he never loved her anyways, and never wanted to see her again. The next few days, Lisanna never showed up to class, and later, apparently transferred to a new school. This caused a scene throughout the school, and that was what Natsu had wanted. He quit fighting in his third year, and rumors were that he stopped because he was banned for going overboard in the last fight, and that he was depressed with Lisanna. This was all to cover up about Zeref. This was when he became a "nerd" and tried hard in school, just like what Zeref had wanted. He became distant with his friends and didn't try to get along with anyone. That's because if the Balam Alliance were to attack, the people close to him would also be in danger, and he hated when his friends get hurt. However, as the salamander, of course he still had all the attention. That's why during this year, he transferred to Fairy High. As a new person, with a new personality. As long as he distance himself away from people, then no one would get hurt." Lucy finished. She wiped off her tears, and saw that Erza was calm and serious.

"I understand now. I understand why he acts the way he is now." Erza said.

"Do you still see him the same way?" Lucy asked.

Erza nodded. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Even if there may be no hope in him returning your feelings?" Lucy asked.

"Of course. Now that I know the truth, I feel like I can understand him better. It must have been tough for you, Lucy. You had feelings for him all these years, and you had to see him suffer without being able to help." Erza hugged the girl.

"It was…" Lucy cried.

Erza pulled away from the girl and looked her in the eyes.

"He helped us in the past, now it is our turn to help him." Erza smiled. Lucy nodded in agreement.

Back in Makarov's office, the four male were having a serious conversation.

"I got news from my spy in Magnolia." Makarov said.

"You have a spy at another school?!" Loke shouted.

"Be quiet!" Makarov smacked Loke on the back of the head. "Anyways… he said that there were rumors going around. They are planning to give us a surprise. I don't know what it is just yet, but I'm sure it won't be anything pretty."

"And what does this have anything to do with me?" Laxus asked.

"Of course this has something to do with you! You and Natsu are the two strongest members of our school." Makarov shouted.

"Ahem. I think you forgot me!" Loke yelled.

"Anyways…" ignoring Loke, "I need you guys present here every day, in order to protect the school." Makarov explained.

"I think I'm enough…" Loke added.

"Shut up Loke. Weren't you leading last year's team? When I don't join the team for a year, you become in seventh place. Talking about shameful." Laxus sighed. Loke had nothing to say.

At Magnolia High, a bunch of males were gathered.

"Tomorrow is the day." Jellal smirked.

 **A/N: Just letting everyone know. I am not dead! School began and university takes up a lot of time. It takes me about 3 hours to go and come back, not to mention my 6-8 hours of school every day. I didn't have time to read this over so don't kill me if there are spelling and grammar mistakes! Anyways, I'm not entirely sure when next chapter will be out, but I promise that I won't give up on this until it's over!**

 **Anyways, until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: It's almost been a year since I updated. I just want to let everyone know that I'm still alive. I'm not even going to lie. The reason I didn't update in so long was because I had lost interest in fanfics. I might read like one every two months, and it's not even Fairy Tail. I guess I just lost interest in Fairy Tail. I still read the manga but I had no motivation to write about it. Also the 2015-2016 school year, I had to juggle between school and work every day so I basically had no time. But after going through my stories, I see people are still reading/waiting for an update. This honestly makes me very happy knowing that people still read my work. Therefore, I have decided to continue with the story. I also have much more time than last year as I only got 3 days of class this semester (stacked everything in 3 days -_-).**

 **Anyways…**

 **If you guys are still reading this, I suggest to start from the beginning again since it was so long ago. Even I had to re-read it to know what's going on LOOOL. I also found some grammar and spelling errors in the first few chapters but I'm just too lazy to fix them right now… Anyways, I hope you guys continue you to read this little story of mine and don't hesitate to drop a review!**

After the meeting in the principal's office, the boys returned to their respective classrooms for the last period of the day. Natsu, who just had his identity exposed, was nervous to enter the classroom. He didn't know how to confront Erza after Laxus had uncovered everything. Natsu knew that Erza thought of "Salamander" as her role model, yet, he still didn't introduce himself properly. He didn't know what Erza would think of him now, now that she knows that her role model was a funny looking, pink-haired nerd.

In the classroom, the teacher gave the class a break and the students were talking amongst themselves. Entering the class, Natsu's classmates looked at him. He was already used to the looks that people gave him, but this time, it was different. They weren't glaring at him. In fact, it would be the opposite. They were grinning at him. This made the pink haired boy uncomfortable.

Natsu looked around the classroom to see that a redhead was missing. He sat down beside Gray, who was busy trying to get Juvia off of him, and asked him where she went.

"H-h-ey, G-g-gray. Do you happen to know where E-erza went…?" Natsu mumbled as he pretended to be how he was supposed to be.

Gray stopped what he was doing with Juvia and smacked Natsu on the back with a huge grin.

"I'm not sure where she went… but… DAMNNN NATSU! You actually beat Loke!" Gray shouted.

"Uhmmm… I don't know what you're saying…" Natsu mumbled.

"Don't be like that! Look around you!" Gray said as he pointed around the classroom. "Everyone knows the news! You protected Lucy and Erza from Loke and put him in his place! This is going to be the biggest story of all year!"

"Uhmmm…" Natsu mumbled.

"Natsu, are you secretly some kind of kung fu master or something? I mean, Loke is part of the school team, yet you beat him with one punch!" Cana teased as she walked up to the boys and placed her arm around Natsu.

Soon, the entire class started gathering around. This was exactly what Natsu DIDN'T want. He was becoming the center of attention again. So instead of feeling happy about beating Loke and basically becoming a hero, Natsu stood up and moved to the corner seat at the back of the classroom and gazed out the window. The others just looked at him as he isolated himself.

"I guess a loner will always be a loner…" one of the students sighed.

"He was probably lucky…" said another.

Natsu just ignored those comments. All he could think about was Erza. He didn't know why she skipped class. She was probably the most responsible person in this entire school. But he did know, it was because of him.

The last bell of the day had rung, and Natsu began packing up to go pick up Wendy from her school. As he left the building, his phone began to ring.

"Hey Lucy." Natsu answered.

"Hey Natsu. Could you meet up with me at the park right now?" Lucy asked.

"I was just going to pick up Wendy, could we meet up some other time?" Natsu replied.

"Oh… then can I come with you as well?" Lucy replied.

"Uhmmmm… I guess…?" Natsu questioned.

"Ok cool! I'll meet you at the park." Lucy shouted.

"But wh—" Before Natsu could finish, the blonde had hung up.

'I guess this is going to be about earlier…' Natsu sighed to himself.

As promised, Natsu went to the park and found Lucy, and as expected, Erza as well. Natsu really didn't want to deal with this right now, but he knew that he had to.

"Hey…" Natsu waved at the girls as he walked up to them.

"Hey Natsu." Lucy replied, looking down from his eyes.

"Natsu." Erza nodded. Natsu nodded back.

The walk to Wendy's school was rather silent. The atmosphere was kind of awkward. No one knew what to say. The distance between both schools was not that much, but for the three, it felt like an eternity.

Erza didn't want to say anything because she felt she didn't know what to say. Natsu was scared that if he said something, it might trigger Erza. Lucy didn't know what to do. She looked at Natsu as the sunlight shines through his salmon pink hair. Lucy could tell that he was clearly nervous from his facial features, but he still looked really cute, even with his glasses and hair down.

Her face reddened. At first it's because of a blush, but now it's because of frustration. Lucy knew Natsu since they were young, and she knew that he used to be a cheerful and fun boy. Now, he became gloomy, and sophisticated. She was frustrated that she didn't understand him anymore. They may still talk a lot now, but it wasn't as fun as it was used to be. He had changed into a person she doesn't know anymore.

The more she thinks about it, the more she's about to burst. She's tired of worrying about him. She's tired of crying for him. She's tired from chasing after him, but yet, even going through all this pain, she still loves him. But at this moment, she thought, enough was enough.

Lucy stopped in her tracks, not being able to take this any longer. Natsu and Erza looked back and asked her if there was something wrong.

"I'm Sorry Natsu! I told Erza everything!" Lucy cried as she avoided his gaze. "I just couldn't take it anymore! I don't want to see you suffer! It pains me every time you come to school and have to put up with everyone!" Lucy shouted. Tears began to roll down her brown orbs as she spilled her heart out.

"Calm down Lucy! I'm fine!" Natsu went to her side and embraced her lightly. Erza just looked to the side with a sad expression. She wasn't sad that Natsu had embraced her best friend, but rather, she was sad for her friend. She thought that if she were to be placed in Lucy's shoes, she would have already broken down a long time ago, knowing that the person she loved was going through such dark times without being to help them. Natsu had lost his parents, his brother, got cheated on, and is being hunted by a group of thugs. Just thinking about this made Erza shiver.

"No you're not!" Lucy screamed. She tried to push Natsu off of her, but he didn't budge. "I know you're just acting tough! I know how much you want to cry, to scream, and to give up!"

Natsu flinched. He knew it was true that he wanted to cry and scream. Sometimes he would cry himself to sleep, just because the stress of taking care of himself and Wendy is putting a toll on him. When he was down, there was no one to cheer him up. When he had problems, there was no one to aid him. But never, did he want to give up.

"You're not the same as before! You used to be outgoing, energetic, cheerful, funny, and most importantly… you were happy!" Lucy cried.

Natsu had let go of her. He had to process what Lucy had to say to him. He knew that Lucy was suffering because of him. He knew her very well. Well enough to the point that everyone thought that they were dating by only asking them a few questions.

"Keep going, don't stop. Let it all out. You'll feel better afterwards." Said Natsu.

"Natsu…" Erza mumbled as she watched the two.

"I liked you all this time! Do you know how hard it is for me to look at you when you're in pain? I try to forget about you, but you're always on my mind. It hurts me physically and emotionally just thinking that one day you might not return. You say that you can't return my feelings, yet you're still so kind to me. That's just too cruel…" Lucy mumbled before breaking down to the ground, covering her face with her hands.

Erza quickly went to Lucy's side to help her up. She looked up at Natsu to see that he was staring at the ground with a blank expression. Erza didn't want this to happen, but she knew the pain that Lucy is going through. It was almost the same as when Jellal became someone else.

"I'm sorry Lucy…" Natsu whispered. "I should have known that you were hurting so much. I shouldn't have come to this school. I should have avoided you to lessen your burden. I should just disappear from you."

Lucy stood up quickly and slapped Natsu on the face. Natsu and Erza was shocked at the sudden attack.

"YOU IDIOT! IF YOU DISAPPEARED I WOULD BE EVEN SADDER!" Lucy shouted. Lucy was now panting. She was tired from all this.

"Yeah don't worry. I won't leave you… but I'm sorry. I still can't return your feelings." Natsu replied.

"Yeah… I know…" Lucy sniffed.

"I can promise you one thing, Lucy." Natsu took off his glasses, gripped his hair and spiked it up back to his original style. "I won't change."

Lucy smiled a little. "Yeah."

"Are you feeling better now?" Erza asked the blonde. She nodded in response.

"Luc—" Natsu got cut off. Lucy stared him in the eyes.

"Even if you don't like me, I still want to be by your side and cheer for you." Lucy claimed.

Natsu's eyes widened before turning into a grin.

"Thank you Lucy. I still think of you as my best friend. I don't deserve this kindness from you. I'm sure many guys will fall for you. Maybe I'm just too much of an idiot for not doing the same…" Natsu smiled.

"Geez… you're the worst." She sniffed. Lucy laughed a little even if her eyes were filled with tears. Natsu laughed as well.

Lucy then turned to Erza who had been silent this entire time. "I'm sorry that you had to see that side of me."

"No no, it's okay." Erza replied.

Lucy then moved closer to Erza and whispered something into her ear. "I got turned down. You got my complete support now."

Hearing that, Erza faked a smile. She didn't exactly want to hear that right after the little scene they made. But she was still a little happy knowing that her best friend had finally gotten so much out of her chest.

"OH SHOOT! I STILL HAVE TO GO PICK UP WENDY!" Natsu yelled before taking off as quick as possible.

The two girls that were left behind just giggled.

 **A/N: That's the end of Lucy's ship it seems ;(**

 **So I won't make any promises for when next chapter is coming, but it might be on Weds or Thurs. Until then, See you next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

The three friends that consisted of a blonde girl who was friendly with everyone, a pink haired "nerd" who may not be who he seems, and the scarlet haired student council president who everyone was afraid of, were currently on their lunch break at the park.

Erza was overly-happy today. It was normal to see the president happy as even the simplest thing would make her jump in joy, such as finding a word in a word search or getting an answer correct in class. It's not surprising that some people find her personality "fake", when in fact, she's just genuinely happy. But today she just wouldn't stop smiling. When she walked out the door, the sun was already up and bright, warming up the morning chilly breeze. On her way to school, she saw many familiar faces and was greeted with many smiles. Visiting her local coffee shop, she had won a free donut from rolling up the rim which enlightened her sweet tooth. And now she was having lunch with her two best friends. She would have thought that after Lucy's meltdown yesterday, today would be awkward for sure, but it seems like her and Natsu were conversing like usual. They're even eating lunch together. The icing on the cake was knowing that Lucy is fully supporting her to be with the boy, even if she doesn't know if she'll go for him, or if he even liked her back. But just knowing that her friend, who was rejected by the boy, is able to move forward puts her at ease. This perfect day couldn't be ruined even if the cake she was currently eating had fallen to the ground. Natsu and Lucy just stared at the redhead as she happily ate her cake with a smile plastered on her face.

"What's wrong with her today? She's been like this since morning. She's so happy that it's scary." Natsu whispered into Lucy's ear as he continued to stare at the girl who was eating her cake.

"I actually have no idea…" Lucy smiled as a sweat drop rolled down her face. "She can be like that at times." Natsu just giggled at the blonde's response and grinned. If this was a shoujo manga, there would definitely be sparkles around Natsu.

Lucy couldn't help but feel her heart press against her chest. Noticing the little pink tint on his cheek as he stared at the president, she felt a little sad, but she knew that she would have to get over it.

"What are you two gossiping about?" Erza said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin she took from her bag. Noticing that they were whispering to each other, she was happy that the two were still as close as ever. The last thing she wanted was for them to be hostile towards each other.

Natsu smiled at Erza's question, which caused the redhead to blush. "Why are you so cheerful today?" the pink haired teen asked.

Erza took a deep breath. "Nothing really! I'm just happy that you two seem to get along as usual!" Erza smiled. Hearing that, Lucy began to blush with her eyes wide opened. The blonde really didn't want to bring up this topic right now. She wanted to leave it in the past even if she cried herself to sleep yesterday.

Lucy was about to retaliate but Natsu began to speak. "Why wouldn't we?" Natsu asked. "I mean, even if we can't become lovers, we can still be friends. I wouldn't give up Lucy for anything else." Lucy decided to play along even if it hurt her. "Yeah… besides… Natsu likes someone else anyways…"

Natsu raised his voice "WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Erza didn't know what to think, but she remained calm. Natsu was confused. He didn't know that he liked anyone, and even if he did like someone, he wouldn't have told her anyways.

"O-oh my… Who do you l-l-like N-natsu…?" The redhead may appear calm, but obviously she was nervous. She could barely form her words right. She only asked the question to get confirmation. If he actually said a name, she would be depressed, but she would give him his support, even if it meant being unable to pursue him.

"No one!" Natsu shouted in response with a blush as he looked Erza in the eyes. He then turned to Lucy, flustered. "Why would you even say that Lucy?!"

The blonde sighed at Natsu's denseness. She knew that Natsu was dense as a brick so she decided to give him a little push. She then turned to Erza with a smile. "The one he likes is you, Erza!"

Natsu's eyes were fully opened from the peer shock he just received. "Hu..huh..huhh…"

Erza was surprised herself. She wasted no time. "Is this true Natsu?" Erza asked seriously. Even if it may not be one hundred percent true, she was already content with the thought that Natsu looked at her this way.

It was silent while the two girls waited for him to respond. The only sounds were the birds chirping and the wind passing by. Lucy knew that Natsu didn't want to love anyone because it may put them in danger, but she thought that if he found someone that he truly likes, then he should deserve happiness. It was already evident to her that whenever Natsu looked at Erza, he would act a little different then he would act with others, excluding herself.

Instead of giving a response, Natsu just sat there, with his bangs shadowing his eyes. Before they knew it, the boy had stood up and ran through the door, leaving the two girls speechless.

"What was that for…?" Lucy mumbled to Erza after she recovered from the sudden escape from Natsu. "He's the worst…" the blonde was disappointed. She didn't expect this outcome. She turned to the redhead, who she thought would be disheartened, but instead, the redhead gently placed her hand on the blonde's shoulder.

Erza smiled, and shook her head lightly. "No no… it's a good thing that he ran away. At least now I know that he doesn't see me in that light. I now know that I should give up before I fall in too deep…"

Natsu was bolting down the stairs and headed to the restroom. He was attracting all the attention of the students that were in the hall. He ran as fast as possible, ignoring all the looks he was getting. His heart was beating too fast for him to be comfortable. He quickly pushed open the door and slammed it shut. 'Stupid Lucy… why would you say that…' Natsu thought to himself as he fisted a stall door. 'She knew that I didn't want to involve myself with anyone…' The boy went to the sink and turned on the tap. He formed a cup with his hands and filled them with water. The sound of running water calmed him down as he splashed his face with cold water, which helped him cooldown from all the running he did earlier.

Wiping his face with paper towels he sighed to himself. Thinking back to what he did, he had to admit, it was kind of rude. Not only did he not give an answer, but he left without saying anything. The bell suddenly rang, notifying the students that the period was over and everyone should be heading to their next class. He didn't want to go to class because Erza would be there, but he forced his legs to move. Thinking back to the question that redhead asked before as he slowly made his way to his classroom, he was confused.

It wasn't like he hated her or anything. In fact, he was actually glad to have met such a wonderful person. But… why couldn't he answer her question like he does with Lucy? As he continued to walk, flashbacks began to play in his head. He remembered the first time he had met the prez. It was when he was being picked on by Loke. Talk about a great first impression! He then remembered the times they spent with each other, like taking the attendance down, eating at Lucy's place, and the incident at the alley. She even knew all about his secrets! These flashbacks made his heart race, and face to heat up.

'Could it be… I have fallen for our student council president…?!'

Natsu stopped and shook his head furiously. He knew exactly why he had run away now. He didn't want to reject the girl. In fact, he would've probably admitted and confessed to her when she asked if it was true. But due to his circumstances, he couldn't afford to be with her so he ran away instead. Natsu was frustrated now. He wasn't frustrated at her or Lucy, but at himself. He was frustrated that he couldn't be a normal high schooler and to have a normal relationship. He didn't even know if Erza had liked him back. What if she only asked so that she could reject him and have him give up on her? She did have a history with Jellal, and he knew how much she loved him.

The second bell to indicate that everyone should be in class by now had rung. Natsu had just arrived outside his classroom five minutes after the bell. Taking a deep breath and swallowing his saliva, he placed his hand on the doorknob and slowly opened the door. The entire class noticed as they turned their attention to the tardy teen.

"Natsu! You're late. I already marked you absent and the attendance had been taken down. Go sign yourself in and don't be late next time!" the teacher scolded. Natsu sighed and nodded.

This might be one of the worst school days he had ever since he attended this school. Walking down to the office, he wasn't really thinking and just blindly walking. He didn't notice the person beside him calling his name.

"NATSU!"

The pinkette snapped back to reality as he saw the person who was yelling his name. He didn't exactly want to see the person he didn't want to see, right in front of him. Erza nudged him on the arm. "EARTH TO NATSU… ARE YOU HERE?!" Erza playfully said with a smile, which caused Natsu to blush.

"Yeah…" Natsu faked a giggle.

Erza sighed. "Natsu… you're late again…" Natsu quickly bowed and whispered a 'I'm sorry'. Erza just giggled. "You know Natsu, as student council president, I really shouldn't let this slide, but since it's you, I'll turn a blind eye this one time." Erza playfully teased as she took out an eraser and erased the absent mark on the attendance sheet.

Natsu smiled softly at her. "Thanks… I guess I'll head back now." Turning away from the president and starting to walk back to class, Erzza quickly grabbed Natsu by the hand. The boy stopped in his track as he felt something warm and soft hold on to his hand. This was the first time the two had ever held hands. Still facing away from her, Natsu began to heat up.

"If it isn't a bother… would you please come with me…?" Erza asked softly. The redhead was also heating up. This was embarrassing for her. She knew that it would become awkward if she didn't clear things up. Natsu turned around and nodded in response. Erza was shocked to see that he had agreed, but she began to smile. She let go of his hand and the two began to walk to the office, slowly.

It was silent on the way to the office, but that's because classes were going on, and they didn't want to disturb them. On the way back to their class, the two stopped by in the cafeteria and sat down at a table. There were other students eating because some people had their lunch on the last period of school. But ignoring them, the duo was silent. Finding this to be awkward, Natsu started the conversation.

"Well… I never knew that you liked to skip class…" Natsu faked a laugh. Erza giggled in response. "I don't…" Natsu knew that she didn't like skipping class. He knew that school meant everything to her, yet she was here, with him.

"Then why are we here…?" Natsu asked in response.

Erza took a deep breath. "Well… I just don't want things to get awkward between us after what had happened during lunch." Erza played with her fingers as she avoided his gaze.

Natsu was now feeling slightly guilty. He knew it was his fault for running away so he had to apologize to her. "I'm sorry for suddenly running away. It was just that… I can't answer you right now… Maybe it's because I'm not even sure myself. But I promise you it wasn't because I don't like you. I mean, you're just as important to me as Lucy is." Natsu explained himself. He was sure that Erza would be sort of disappointed in him, but instead he was greeted with a soft smile. The smile made Natsu's heart skip a beat.

"I'm really happy that you think of me to be just as important to you as Lucy is. Thank you." Erza responded. If this was the first impression that people got from Erza, then she could probably double the amount of admirers she has.

Erza then stared Natsu in the eye. She swallowed and put on her serious face. "I think I may like you."

Natsu blinked three times with a little grin on his face. "I'm sorry, but I didn't get that, could you repeat it again?" Natsu laughed.

Erza was now nervous. She didn't know if he was faking it or he actually didn't hear her the first time. "Geez… making a girl say that again… I said… I. THINK. I. MAY. LIKE. YOU!" Erza responded loud and clear.

Natsu was taken aback. So he didn't hear it wrong. Erza had just basically confessed to him. Luckily no one else heard, or else this would be the biggest news around the school. Bigger then Natsu beating Loke up. Just imagine… the pretty president that has many admirers, confessing to the nerd. This would probably cause an outrage. He didn't know what to say and how to respond, so he became as solid as rock.

Stunned by her sudden confession, Erza giggled at his shocked expression. "You don't have to give me an answer. I know that you don't want to involve yourself with anyone. But I feel like I just wanted to tell you." Erza smiled. "You can forget about all this if you want."

Hearing that, Natsu became human again. He processed what had happened and had a serious look on his face. "No… I won't forget this… I will give you an answer since you deserve one… just not right now…" Natsu said as he looked away from her.

Erza smiled as the boy's words, then stood up and began to walk away. "If we don't hurry to class, then it'll seem like we snuck out to go on a date or something." Erza winked at the pinkette. Realizing that they were still outside of the classroom, Natsu quickly caught up to Erza to get back to class.

Meanwhile, at someone's house, three males brought out many buckets of paint, dozens of eggs, and a few knives.

"Get ready boys, the fun is about to being." One of the males with blue hair smirked maliciously.

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 **A/N: And that's it for this chapter! Also this is my third story to reach both 100+ favorites and followers alongside with "I'll Look After You" & "Memories"! I truly can't thank you guys enough. The reason that I write stories in the first place is because I want people to read them, and you guys made this story possible! Also, if you haven't already, give "I'll Look After You" & "Memories" a try as they are both NaZa stories. Anyways, until next time!**


	11. Remake

**A/N:**

 **Hey guys! It's been a long time since I've updated this story. Sorry if you guys think this is an updated chapter!**

 **I don't know how many or if there are any of you guys still waiting for the next chapter.**

 **To be honest, after re-reading this, I wasn't happy with some stuff.**

 **Fight clubs at school…? Like seriously… LOOOOOL**

 **Writing this story felt like it got harder each chapter that comes out.**

 **I've decided to make a remake of this story. Concepts and story will be the same, but some things will change.**

 **If you guys want to read the new one please go to my profile and click the link!**

 **The beginning of the new story will most likely be the same, but the story will change later on.**

 **I'll take this story down after the new one is mostly caught up.**

 **Anyways, I want to thank everyone for their reviews and hope that the new story will be much better than this one!**

 **Thank you!**


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